In its analysis of last year's smartphone market in the U.S., NPD found that market share for Apple's iOS went up following the release of the iPhone 4S, to 43 percent of all smartphone sales in October and November from 26 percent in the third quarter. Android, meanwhile, retained its lead, but lost market share towards the end of the year, dropping in October and November to 47 percent from 60 percent in the previous quarter. These are some dramatic shifts in market share but what do they really mean to you and me?

A lot of people harp on price, but that's only part of the equation. Consumers don't just look at price when they buy a product. It depends on how you slice the market. If you're looking at all phones, that's one market. If you're looking at premium phones, then that's a different market. In some ways price can define the market. In other ways price is almost irrelevant.

There are a number of consumers that don't want to pay for a phone when they get a contract and will not buy a phone because it's an extra $20. They aren't loyal consumers and place no value on the product. They probably just use the phone as (gasp!) a phone and not to run a lot of apps or browse the web. Saying they are Android users or are choosing Android is a little bit stretch, because they place zero value on the platform.

If they were willing to pay some amount (say $50) then you can say they are Android buyers but are price sensitive and might change their preference if a less expensive version of iPhone was available.

Other consumers expect to pay $200 (or more) at the time of purchase to have a premium phone. (Even if it's a matter of fashion and not a thorough vetting based on technical merits). I would say that's a different market and more interesting because you do have other factors that can come into play, such as brand loyalty. There may even come a day when we have to look at the cost of switching because you have to re-buy all your apps.

tl;dr
Price is only one component of the decision and may not be the most important, depending on how you define the market.